Lester Patel
Lester Patel is a member of the Nerd Herd who specializes in Apple products. Little information on Lester's family has been given in the series, however reveals he has a cousin familiar with legal work, and helped Morgan compose his Morganuptuals. Lester is of Indian descent, and is Jewish." " Several episodes have shown Lester keeps kosher, however he frequently takes advantage of other aspects of his faith, such as scamming his coworkers with a dreidel. However shows he's proud of his heritage, as he several times corrects Big Mike when he refers to the store's holiday party as a "Christmas Party." Character Lester is the lead singer in the two-man band Jeffster! along with Jeff and auditioned (with Toto's Africa) to be the band for the wedding of Ellie and Devon. Jeffster!, though not officially hired for the wedding, nonetheless performed Styx's Mr. Roboto before the ceremony. He has written dozens of pop songs as well as "Virus/rebuild," an experimental symphony for monophonic synthesizer. His stylistic influences include Morrisey, Kurt Cobain, Bon Scott, Billy Joel, and Madonna. He does not, in fact, have a Wikipedia entry in his name, an "accomplishment" he noted on his resume while applying for the position of Assistant Manager at the Buy More."Chuck Versus the First Date" Lester's best friend is Jeff, and the two are frequently seen scheming together in many episodes. Stealing Big Mike's marlin was Lester's idea, and he conspired with Jeff to break into the Buy More and steal a high-tech computer he mistakenly believed was a new gaming machine. He frequents the Bennigan's bar across the street from the Buy More with Jeff, presumably to pick up women there. Series Lester's primary use throughout the series is in the secondary plots at the Buy More, and he has rarely contributed to the main plot. His antics with Jeff are frequently a source of comic relief. His most important contributions to the main plot came in when he decided to steal Big Mike's fish after breaking into the store. The resulting hunt for the fish became a major focus of the plot. His performance of "Mr. Roboto" during Ellie's wedding also indirectly helped Chuck save her life. In the second season Lester was promoted to Assistant Manager of the Buy More after beating Jeff in a cage match organized by Morgan. Much like Harry Tang before him, his tenure was initially highly unpopular with the rest of the employees due to his tyrannical tendencies, prompting a walkout led by Morgan Grimes. He voluntarily returned to his former position with the Nerd Herd at the end of "Chuck Versus the Cougars". Despite his previously held position of assistant manager, he holds a strong adversion to anyone in power in the Buy More and very often attempts to sabotage and humiliate them when possible. Lester has on several occasions shown a willingness to sell out for personal gain. In "Chuck Versus the Alma Mater" he betrayed Morgan's revolt against Harry Tang for a monogramed Buy More polo. He also attempted to suck up to Chuck when Big Mike assigned him to interview for the assistant manager position. However Lester freely acknowledged to Emmett Milbarge that when faced with a difficult decision he asks himself "What would Chuck do?" He also followed Morgan's lead in an attempt to sabotage Emmett's efficiency rating. He is terrified of Casey, and when he attempted to hit on Sarah after Chuck "dumped" her, he panicked when she responded aggressively to his advances. Lester nearly got Chuck sued for sexual harassment when he and Jeff organized a "casting couch" to hire a new Buy More "Greenshirt," and used it as an opportunity to hit on women."Chuck Versus the Beefcake" As a result they mistakenly believed a FULCRUM agent who kidnapped Chuck was a police officer taking him into custody. Development Beginning with the second season première, actor Vik Sahay was listed in the opening credits as a series regular. During the audition process actor Vik Sahay originally read for the role of Morgan, eventually coming down to between him and Joshua Gomez. After Gomez was selected for Morgan, Sahay was offered the role of Lester. Sahay has described Lester as "fancying himself a superstar and he just does not have the nervous system to back it up." The concept for Jeffster! first appeared after Sahay mentioned to the writers Lester's "rock star" hair and swagger. He further goes on to describe Lester as "...He wants to be respected, right? He wants what Chuck has—that effortless charm and likeability. He wants it so bad that the last thing he is is effortless. He’s effort-ful." A significant amount of improvisation and riffing also occurs between the actors, which Sahay attributes to the "electric environment" resulting from the strong working relationships and friendship between the cast members.Interview: April 12, 2009: Sahay on Jeffster, geekiness, and saving Chuck Sahay issued a "thank you" to fans of the series following the completion of a deal between NBC and Warner Bros. to pick up the series for a third season.Interview: May 18, 2009: [http://weblogs.redeyechicago.com/showpatrol/2009/05/vik-sahay-thanks-fans-for-saving-chuck.html Vik Sahay thanks fans for saving 'Chuck'] Josh Schwartz has also indicated that Jeffster! will be making another appearance in the show's third season.''Interview: April 29, 2009: [http://www.sliceofscifi.com/2009/04/29/josh-schwartz-talks-chuck-finale-renewal-odds/ Josh Schwartz Talks "Chuck" Finale, Renewal Odds] References Category:Characters